Pan American World Airways - Images of a Great Airline is a pictorial history of the airline that highlights its aviation "Firsts" and notable achievements. Included are vintage photographs of airliners and images of timetable covers, schedules and route maps, annual report covers and baggage strap tags, all documenting its storied history from first flight to last.

From the Preface:

Probably no airline in the history of aviation has attracted more attention and has been more written about than Pan American World Airways, for decades the symbol of airline superiority world-wide. This is the airline that pioneered air navigation and communications. It introduced international and over-ocean flights. It set the standard for in-flight service and brought air travel to the masses through the introduction of “Tourist” class. It brought the industry into the jet age and eventually the era of the wide-body jet. To thousands of Americans living and working overseas, Pan American meant home. Pan American served the United States and never failed to answer the call of the country. For many, Pan American was the symbol of the United States around the world.

Pan American’s pioneering “firsts” have been thoroughly documented in many books and articles. And indeed a wealth of books, ranging from detailed histories to coffee-table picture books, is available to anyone interested in Pan American.

In this book, Pan American’s firsts, along with significant events, are presented in chronological order and are divided into six sections representing key eras of the life of Pan American: (1) Beginnings (1927-1939); (2) The War Years (1940-1945); (3) The Piston Era (1946-1957); (4) The Jet Age (1958-1969); (5) Top of the World - Boeing 747 (1970-1979); and (6) End of an American Icon (1980-1991). The firsts and significant events are listed at the beginning of each section followed by illustrations from that era, including covers of annual reports, covers of time tables (along with a page of flight schedules and route map), baggage strap tags, safety information cards and pictures of aircraft. Some images are of items never before illustrated, many of which are rare or no longer exist.